The Miami Heat Will Open a Nightclub in Their Arena

Miami Heat home games often look and feel like a party — fans arriving late, wearing party attire, South Beach, etc. — and the team is now simply making it official. Reports Businessweek: “Sam Nazarian, the Los Angeles restaurant and hotel owner, plans to open a Hyde nightclub at the Miami Heat’s AmericanAirlines Arena as sports venues expand their entertainment offerings. Nazarian’s SBE Entertainment Group LLC, owner of Katsuya restaurants and the luxury-lodging chain SLS, expects to open the club in partnership with the Heat Group in time for the next National Basketball Association season. The club will feature multiple bars, lounge areas, flat-screen televisions and a private dining room. [...] ‘Arenas want to bring in the next level of experience, such as a nightlife component,’ Nazarian, founder and chief executive officer of SBE, said in an interview. ‘Old arenas like Madison Square Garden or Dodger Stadium are trying to reinvent themselves. People are looking for more than just hot dogs and pizzas.’ Danny Elmaleh, executive chef at the Los Angeles-area restaurants Cleo and Mercato di Vetro, will help develop the menu at Hyde AmericanAirlines Arena, and a mixology team will create cocktails with ingredients such as red pepper, some prepared with liquid nitrogen. The 5,000-square-foot (465-square-meter) club will have its own entrance and accommodate 200 people, Nazarian said. Admission would be free for game- and concert-goers, and patrons without event tickets would be charged a fee, he said. The venue may be rented for special occasions when the arena is dark. ‘In one respect, Hyde will be a new amenity for our best customers,’ said Eric Woolworth, president of business operations for the Miami Heat. ‘It adds a hip quotient and panache, and it’s also another space we can market for parties and private events.’”